Cover Story

Ferrous scrap market unpredictable despite consolidation
There was some suspicion that steel producers would be able to manipulate the scrap market because they had too much control over raw materials, but time has proven that the fickle ferrous scrap market continues to follow a beat that’s paced by many factors.

From the Editor

Other than the cowboy, there may not be a symbol that more powerfully evokes the American ideals of autonomy and individualism than the automobile. Those icons came together at halftime during the Super Bowl, when Chrysler aired an ad featuring Clint Eastwood. Before delving further into the ad, its fallout and what it says about the short-term fortunes of the automotive metals sector, some context is needed.

The trend toward more obsolete ferrous scrap grades has reflected systemic changes in supply, exports and imports, melt mixes and competition, which have occurred during one of the most dramatic decades in the history of the industry.

Aluminum and high-strength steel will dominate the auto sector as the car of the future—whether gasoline or diesel—is likely to be made of both metals. The challenge is to work with fabricators and automakers to enable the supply chain and the assembly process to work.

Galvanized sheet’s biggest North American market is automotive, which accounts for about 40 percent of consumption. Construction, steel service centers, appliances and the electric industry account for the rest of the industry’s improving annual production.